Published in italian at el tiempo as “The two assassination attempts on Saint John Bosco by a Freemason group”

03/02/22: John Bosco, or Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco in Italian, is known today as Don Bosco . He was a 19th century priest, writer, and educator who founded the Salesian Family congregation.

Much is said about the work of this priest with the poorest young people. The subject always bothered him and he tried to help them with what he could. Although Don Bosco was a good person, the Freemasons hated him and wanted to kill him . In fact, they tried to do it twice. So it happened. The Freemasons had a secular view of education and proposed that schools should be secular and free of any religious value.

Precisely, these ideas generated a conflict with the Salesian sectors for their way of imparting their beliefs in schools .

Don Bosco considered that evangelization was done through the school. In fact, the Salesians wanted to convert the indigenous people and train them under their religion.
For this, a missionary and educational project was carried out where they visited different schools, parishes, hospitals and orphanages.

…….

On June 1, 1980, an article called ‘Bollettino Salesiano ‘, by the Salesian Family, was published. In it, they relate how the assassination attempts against Don Bosco were, under the title ‘Purpose: to get rid of our Don Bosco’. The article commemorates almost 100 years since the assassination attempts against the priest. According to the ‘Bollettino Salesiano’, at the end of June 1880, a former student of Don Bosco, the young Alessandro Dasso, asked to speak with him.

“ His eyes were anguished ”, recalled the publication.

He indicated that “ Don Bosco received him with his usual kindness ”, but faced with the “growing agitation” of the young man, the founder of the Salesian Family told him: “What do you want from me? Speaks! You know that Don Bosco loves you”. The young Dasso knelt down, began to cry and told Don Bosco the truth .

He admitted that he was affiliated with the Freemasons, who had condemned the priest to death. “Twelve men had been drawn; twelve individuals had to succeed with that order to carry out the sentence”, reads the Bollettino Salesiano.

Also, he confessed that he was the first one they commanded, but that he did not want to kill him. At the end of his confession, the young man threw the weapon he had hidden on the floor and quickly left for his house.

Days later, Alessandro Dasso tried to commit suicide by throwing himself into the river, but was rescued by some policemen. Don Bosco helped him escape from Italy, and he lived in hiding until the day he died.

Months later, in December 1880, a 25-year-old man visited the priest. Don Bosco admitted that his gaze gave him mistrust, as his eyes had a ‘sinister’ gleam. In the article they comment that the young man had a small six-shot revolver hidden, but without realizing it, his gun slipped out of his pocket and fell on the sofa.

“Don Bosco, without him realizing it, deftly placed his hand on it and slowly put it in his pocket”, recounted the ‘Bollettino Salesiano’.

Some time passed and the young man realized that he did not have the gun in his pocket and was surprised. The priest, who had the weapon, asked him: “What are you looking for, Lord?”

The young man told him that he had something in his pocket but he did not know where it was.

“ Don Bosco, quickly approaching the door and bringing his left hand to the handle to be ready to open it, pointed his gun at it and without getting angry said: ‘This is the tool you were looking for, isn’t it?’ Seeing this, the scoundrel was stunned ,” the article recalled.

The text also tells that the young man tried to take the revolver from him, but Don Bosco did not allow it and threw him out of the place. Finally, the boy had to leave with his companions, who were waiting for him outside in the car.

Don Bosco died on January 31, 1888 at the age of 72. Some time later, on June 2, 1929, exactly 39 years later, he was proclaimed blessed. On April 1, 1934, he was canonized by Pope Pius XI.

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